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A SHORT 



HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN ' 



FOR THE PAST 44 YEARS. 



AND OTHER SUBJECTS, 



BY 



JOif^EPll TllOillPl^O]! 

I) 



charlestown: 
UE COSTA & HOMANS::::PRINTERS. 

1848. 



•Y ^.SV.N^5U'*f^\lT. 



iH\oI^^' 



U S U R \^ . 



Infant City or Charlestown, 

Mass., June 27, 1848. 
To tlic Honorable 

TiiERON Metcalf: — 

Dear Sir; I see that you and the 
Honorable Horris Mann are the authors of the Revised 
Statutes ot* the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, pass- 
ed Nov. 4, 1835. You will please permit me to ask 
your opinion as to interest on money and usury. Chap. 

35, page 307. 

Sfx. 1. The interest of money shall continue to be at the 
rate of six dollars and no more, for one hundred dollars for a year, 
and at the same rate, for a greater or less sum, and for a longer or 
shorter tini(\ 

Skc. '2. No contract or as«uranc(^ for the ])ayinent of money 
with interest at a greater rate than is allowed by the proceeding 
section, shall be thereby rendered void, but whenever, in any ac- 
tion brought on such contract or assurance, it shall appear, upon a 
special plea to that cfiect, that a greater rat(; of interest has been 
directly or indirectly taken, or received, than is allowed by law. 
the defendant shull recover his full costs, and the plaintiff' shall 
I'orfcit three fold the amount of the whole interest received or ta- 
i^en, and shall have judgment for the balance only, whicii shall re- 
main due after deducting; said three lold amount. 



%' 



4 

Sec. 3. Whenever a greater rate of interest than is allowed 
by law, shall have been paid, the |)arty paying the sanu; may re- 
cover back three fold the amount of the whole mterest paid «Mther 
by an action of debt or by a bill in chancery, provuhnl, that such 
action or bill shall be prosecuted within two years from the tune 
when the said interest shall have been paid. 

Sec. 4. In the trial of any election, wherein it shall appear by 
the pleadings, that the ilict of unlawful interest having been taken or 
recovered, is put in issue, it shall be lawful for the debtor, the cred- 
itor beincr Hving, to become a witness, and he shall be admitted as 
such, and the creditor, if he shall offer his testimony, shall also be 
admitted as a witness, together with cny other legal evidence that 
may be introduced by either party. 

Now sir, I have known tliis usury business in the state 
of Massachusetts for the past 44 years, and have been a 
payer of usury more or less for said 44 years, but never 
could get any rcdreSfe. Now, in the first place, I dispise 
taking any redress without this usury has been outrageous 
rxorbkant. The manner that this usury has been taken 
ni Massachusetts, is this, there has been notes made by 
promise and endorse, and then the notes are sold or pre- 
tended to be sold by a broker, or usurer ; this they say 
evades the law, it is no matter how much the broker 
takes if lie takes three times the amount of usury that he 
sells the note for, and you can prove it, or if he puts the 
note into his own pocket; another way is this,— the mer- 
chant, the trader, artist, contractor, operatives and work- 
ing men have notes due to them all over the country, and 
wlicn it is a short time for money as they say, and the 
banks &c., will not discount a dollar oidy for their beloved 
favorites, and these favorites are said usurers and brokers. 
As they iavor said banks to part of the premium, and 
these bank usurers and brokers can make it a short time 
for money all the time, and the merchants, traders, artists, 
operatives and workingmen cannot help themselves, they 



are completely in the power of these men. The rate 
that these fair and honorable merchants, traders, artists, 
operatives and working men &c., tax bundles of said 
notes that they liold, to said usurers and brokers, and said 
usurers and brokers charge them a quarter to a hah' per 
cent, per day, and will hold three times the amount that 
they loan to said merchants kc. &c. ; you will ask why 
they give so much usury, 1 will answer you. Said mer- 
chants &c. have notes and drafts to pay on said days to 
the banks &c., and if they do not pay them by 2 o'clock 
on said days, they arc protested, and they are all dead 
men ; and this thing is done up by said usurers, brokers 
and the banks. This usury amounts to one and to two 
hundred per cent, per year. This usury baflles all calcu- 
lation in the best men of fair and honorable business in 
Massachusetts, and leaves them all in despair of ever ris- 
ing again. 

In the years 1834 to 18iO, it was computed by sound 
calculators that there was over sixty million of dollars paid 
yearly in the usury in the city of Boston and its vicinity 
alone, and you will see that it is done more ; there is at 
least one million of dollars changing hands daily in Boston 
and its vicinity. Now this usury at 25 per cent and it 
will average all of that, and this will only take four days 
to make a million of usury. Now can this be called a 
healthy state of currency in Massachusetts ? No, No; to 
see your enterprishig merchants, trader, artists, working 
men Sec. ^c, bleed to death by these usuries, daily. The 
Massachusetts recorders tell what it is ; that 95 out ot 
every 100 of these men die bankrupts, beggars and vaga- 
bonds; these 5 Jasonshave won all the Heecc of these 95 
beggars kc. It is the regular and liiir currency that 



makes all nations happy, glorious and noble. Our mother 
country England, is particular with their currency. Eng- 
land could not exist a year with Massachusetts usury ; we, 
as a nation, are lent and mad with speculation and pecu- 
lation, the one over the other ; it seems to be our genius, 
education, customs and fashions of our days ; the few 
seems to want all the wealth, magnificence, self fame and 
assumption of power over the many ; there seems to be 
no satisfying these userers ; they seem to want to grasp the 
whole world. Now you see that full half of the real es- 
tate in Boston and its vicinity is mortgaged. Now, 
where are all these men to get the money to pay said 
mortgages. They cannot get it of the banks, not a dol- 
lar ; they pay these usurers the last dollar as long as they 
can; why, their estates must go under the hammer, and 
they must be bankrupts and beggars, with their families 
at their heels. There is no chance, laws mow; unless 
they can pay 50 per cent, they must go to jail and stay 
their time out ; will these usurers, banks or mortgagees 
help them, then there will be something new under the 
sun if they will. 

Govercrnor Everett set this matter right of imprison- 
ment for debt in his address of 1836, to the Massachu- 
setts Legislature. lie told them tiiat Judge Marshall, the 
Chief Justice of tlic United States government said that 
it was unconstitutional to put a man or woman to prison 
for debt. If they had nothing to })ay, that they could not 
and did not promise to give uj) tlu;ir liberty. A man can 
no more give, or promise, or sell his liberty, than he can 
promise to sell or give up his right in the kingdom of 
heaven. (Governor Everett will receive the gratitude of 
millions of men and women for this humane and noble act 



of his in said Legislature. Bui I cannot tell how many 
counsellors, lawyers, justices and officers will thank hiui 
for it, that have o;ot their livino; for the past Vl years hy 
ihis cruel unconstitutional practice. 

Usury is non assistance, and ingratitude ; ingratitude 
and non-assistance God and every god-like man abhores. 
All the Almighty God of the universe commands or wishes 
of man, is to assist his fellow-man on this, his earth. 
What other place is there for man to assist his fellow-man. 
Surely, man will not want any assistance from his fellow- 
man in the kingdom of heaven. This one word assist- 
ance, embraces all the pure christian virtues, and all that 
the God of the Universe commands or wishes of all the 
beings he ever made or ever will make. 

It was usury that sunk ancient Tyrus in the midst of the 
seas with all his riches, magnificence, self fame and pow- 
er. It was usury that burnt up modern Rome in the fire 
of liiction. And it will be usury that will destroy this 
American Republic with the fire of faction. See, see the 
state of this one vast nation of ours. We see now but 
one fire of faction from one end of the the country to the 
other, filled with Mark Antony politicians, all in hot pur- 
suit for the white house, widi their party men at their 
heels, for riches, magnificence, self fame and assumption; 
for power, for offices of honor and profit. Where are 
them mighty counsellors, chieftains, warriors and soldiers 
of the American Revolution ; Franklin, Washington and 
all their associates ; they are not here now. Where is 
the mighty Franklin to assist all our young men Avith 
equal rights and equal facilities ; they are turned into 
Shylocks of usury ; the pound of flesh will not satisfy our 



8 

usury ; all the flesh and lands will not satisfy them; they 
seem to wish and want to grasp the universe. 

Was there ever a people's lot so goodly situated as the 
American people. We are located in a goodly land " flow- 
ing with milk and honey." We see our fields of grain 
bowing down their heads to the reapers for us — we see 
the cattle on the thousand hills, fitting themselves for us— - 
we see the fowls of heaven coming down for us — we see 
the fishes in the seas coming up from the deep— deep 
seas, to feed us by day, and light us by night — we see the 
fine wines of Galia floating to us — we see our store hou- 
ses loaded with every thing for us, so that all can have 
enough — so that men and beasts can all be supplied. 
Not even a cat or dog but could have their three meals 
per day ; yet where is there a people so ungrateful as the 
American people. Avarice and power seems to be our 
ruling passion. 

See the book of the prophet Ezekiel, the son of Ba- 
zi in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river of Chebar, 
and the word of the Lord came unto him expressly; 
please to read the 18th, 27th and 28th Chapters, and 
there you will see the Lord Gods opinion of usury, and 
the downfall of Tyrus, and the prince of Tyrus. Ezekiel 
said, the word of the Lord come again unto me saying : 
" Now thou son of man take up a lamentation for Tyrus 
and the prince of Tyrus. Thus saith the Lord God, Oh 
Tyrus, thou hast said I am of perfect beauty, &c. Son 
of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, thus saith the Lord 
God, because thy heart is lifted up and hast said I am a 
God, J sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas, 
yet thou art a man and not God, though thou set thine 
heart as the heart of God, &c." John A. Bollcs, Esq. 



Counsellor at^aw, No. 10, Court street, Boston, wrote a 
treatise in favor of usury, in 1837, and had permission 
from the Hon. Abbott Lawrence and Henry Lee to lean 
on them to support him in his doctrine of usury laws. 
Mr Bolles seems to challenge the God of the universe 
and all his holy Bible, that he is correct, and that the Al- 
mighty God is mistaken in this usury business, when eve- 
ry word in said Bible, from beginning to end, is dead 
set against usury. Mr. Bolles seems to think that if all 
vestments was taken from usury, money would be more 
plenty &c. So it was with Massachusetts Legislators — 
some of them — last session. But they all may depend that 
the God of the universe is correct on this usury case, if 
no other. 

Mr. Metcalf, I do not wish you to commit yourself in 
this case of usury in any way whatever ; but if you can 
give me your opinion on what I have stated within, viz : 
if there is a way to get any justice by the laws of Massa- 
chusetts, where usury has been taken most unreasonable 
large? — for this is a subject that we are all interested in, 
that wish well to this republic, and the just rights of all. 
If you see fit to give me any answer to this letter, you 
will please to send it by the Charlestown Post Office ; if 
not, you will please to return it by the said Post Office. 
Yours, &c. JOS. THOMPSON. 

Mr Bolles has ransacked all the Old and New Testa- 
ment in trying to prove his morality of usury, and usury 
laws. We shall not attempt to follow him in all his wind- 
ings andtwistings and perverting of the true meaning of the 
word of the God of the universe, in both of His Testaments, 
but simply say, that we have all mistaken the true mean- 

9 



10 

ing of His two Books, as it respects usury altd usury laws, 
and that we all doubt that He is a God of mercy and not of 
sacrifice, for 1 cannot find in both of His Testaments by 
His Holy Prophets, that He or they approve of usury, at 
least, the Massachusetts Shylock usury. I grant him 
that a reasonable amount of increase or interest, and this 
reasonable interest should always be regulated according 
to the fair and equal business in the state or place where 
it is taken. 

Mr. Bolles is very incorrect in saying that money is 
like all kinds of commodities, such as wares, merchandise 
and all kinds of goods — such as the staples, goods of life 
and the fancy goods of life. The great mass of the peo- 
ple of Massachusetts are not compelled to purchase the 
staples of life at this Shylock usury of 108 per cent, profit; 
unless there is a famine in our land, they will always be 
at a fair business price, if the crops be fair to middling, 
and the fancy and useless articles of life will be at a low 
rate, but the great mass of the poor and oppressed can 
live on these staples of hfe very cheap, and dispense with 
all these fancy articles, and save their good morals. 

But it is not so with the wants of money. The five 
.Jason Shylocks of Massachusetts have all the power put 
into their hands to oppress and crush the ninety-five poor 
bankrupts and beggars into their mother earth. In this 
power to oppress said 95 out of every 100, is given to 
these five beautiful Jasons out of every 100, by what is 
called our first class men and judges of our land ; and it 
seems that there is no just laws in Massachusetts that can 
be brought to bring any relief to said ninety-five out of 
every one hundred oppressed. So say the judges and 



11 

lawyers; — so you say Mr Foreman;— so you all say Gen- 
tlemen of the Jury. 

Now I appeal to the millions of men, women and chil- 
dren in Massachusetts that have been so oppressed for the 
past forty years — of merchants, traders, artists, operatives 
and workingmen — if they had not rather have been born 
into this world an African slave and sold to the southern 
planter if he was a humane master, than be a Massachu- 
setts slave to these five beautiful Shylocks that I have 
named above. You see on the southern slave that has a 
humane master, a beautiful, serene, calm, placid smile. 
You see on the Massachusetts bankrupt beggar, a death- 
like gloom that he carrys with him down to his grave. I 
here wish to say, that I think there are many masters in 
the south that are very oppressive to their slaves or ser- 
vants, as well as at the north, but is there not as much hu- 
manity at the south as at the north. We at the north 
seem to have great sympathy for the southern slaves or 
servants. We can shed crocodile tears, and sigh and 
weep audibly in public places, for them southern negro 
slaves, or servants ; and here let me say that it is thought by 
many great divines, that a slave and a servant mean the 
same thing in God's Bible. The Rev. learned in God's 
Scriptures, Mr B., of Charlestown, says that he thinks 
that they mean the same thing, as he finds that the Apos- 
tle Paul said that he was a slave unto Christ. 

I understand that the Hon. John A. Bolles is considered 
one of the best Democratic Republicans they have in 
Boston — a man of the {)ure principles and acts of Frank- 
lin and Washington, and such like men. He wants the 
great mass of the people in the whole world to have 



12 

hiiuiane and equal and just laws — equal and jujst adminis- 
tration of said just laws, and equal and fair facilities. 

Now we conic to the sympathy of our humane gentle- 
men at the nortli, for their servants and slaves ; but we 
find that we all have more oppression for them than sym- 
pathy, according to our kind of rehgion. Not a sigh, a 
tear or a groan, for our own northern bankrupts. Are 
there no sequels with us at the north for our great sympa- 
thy for the southern slaves. 

Usury commenced its spoiling ravages in Massachu- 
setts about 1 805, and has been on the increase ever since. 

Perhaps the humane gentlemen and judges in Massa- 
chusetts are not fully acquainted with the manner of tak- 
ing this high usury in Massachusetts. In the first place all 
the great mass of the people, rich and poor, and middling 
class, are excited and stimulated by the rich and great 
usurers, to go into all the desperate speculations and pe- 
culations, great and small of the days; which seems to be our 
genius and high education. Then the rich and the great 
usurers when they have got all under them in the great 
mass, with these mad speculations and peculations, one 
over the other, they spring their traps of usury on 
this great mass of the people, and these five Jasons that 
have won all the Heece from the ninety-five bankrupts 
are called a cluster of beauties by all the great men, like 
the Hon John A. BoUes, in Massachusetts. Then will 
these holy, pious and pure rich Jasons pray most fervent- 
ly, hot, boiling prayers to our General and State Covcrn- 
meiits, for banks to help on with all kinds of fair and 
honorable business for fair honorable business men, as 
they say, when at the same time all the rich Jason Shy- 
lock usurers do not mean to let the tjrcat mass of lair. 



13 

honorable, business men have a dollar if they can help it; 
they mean to share all these fair facilities among them- 
selves, and their particular favorites and friends of the 
greatest usurers in large speculations and peculations. 
Some of the greatest statesmen and politicians in these vast 
United States, of both of the great parties in politics 
have urged and exerted themselves to get the National 
Bank and all Banks, as they most sincerely thought, for the 
jiood of the whole mass in these vast United States. But 
how have these best of statesmen and politicians been 
used ? Why, they have had to bear all the odium and dis- 
grace of such men as the Hon. John A. Bolles. And such 
men have filled their own pockets out of the great mass of 
the people. Every fool knows that a fair currency is the 
life and soul of every commercial, manufacturing and ag- 
riculturing country hke ours. But if the officers of said 
banks have not a spark of the virtues of patriotism of and 
for the great mass in said nation, but choose to put every 
dollar of the money into their, and their own particular 
friend's pockets, what can the best of statesmen and poli- 
ticians do for their nation ? When the United States Bank 
was in operation, the last of it, the head of said bank gave 
all the officers and agents full power to sell all their mo- 
ney to the fair and holiest business men at tyvo per cent, 
per month, and over, on all the Jewish rialtors in this 
vast nation, and put the money into their own pockets. 
But such high and honorable men as the Hon. John A. 
Bolles say, that is all right, this is pure Democratic Re- 
publicanism in their way of thinking. So it is, and has 
been, with all the state and other banks that was got up 
with these false pretensions. In 1834 to 1840, six years, 
it was computed by sound calculators that over sixty mil- 



14 

lions yearly was paid in usury in Massachusetts, more than 
six per cent, over lawful interest ; and most of this usury 
has been paid on the Boston Jewish rialtos. And how 
is it now on those same rialtos ? Why, more than that has 
been paid the last year. 1 appeal to the millions of fair 
and honorable business men in Boston, how is this usury 
paid ? why thus : 

The banks make a short stop and say that they cannot 
discount a single dollar to the fair and honest business men. 
But do they not discount — how do they pay all their expen- 
ses, their banking principles, their favorite officers, usury, 
&c. ? O yes, they discount to them very freely and to the 
large speculators and peculators in railroads and all mad 
speculation, but not a dollar to the fair and honorable trad- 
er, operative or workingmen. 

And how does these fair traders, operatives and work- 
ingmen get along in these days ; they must pay their notes 
and drafts, at sigh, or they are all ruined men. Why they 
all do the best they can ; they go to the banks for assis- 
tance, and the bank officers tell them that they cannot help 
them to a dollar, that they feel bound, and must dis- 
count every dollar they can to all the desperate specula- 
tors in Railroads &c. &c., as they arc the only men that 
have supported them through thick and thin. Well, what 
do all these fair merchants, traders, artists, operatives and 
working men do next ? why, they all go endorcers to the 
humane usurers and brokers of Massachusetts ; and they 
seem to be very sorry for all their situations, and say that 
they think the times must be better soon — that they can't 
hold so much longer — but it is wholly out of their power 
to help them without they can bring a note with as good 
a name on tlic back of it as the Hon. P. C. Brooks : then 



15 

they may probabiy got the money at two per cent, per 
month, if they will allow them as brokers, one per cent, per 
month; so that the lion. John A. Bollcs and the judges 
of the land will say that there is no usury in all this. 
Or there is another way for you poor devels and fallen 
angels to do, if you cannot bring me as good a name 
as the lion. P. C. Brooks or the Hon. E. Frances; and 
we don't suppose you poor devels of fair and honorable 
merchants, traders, artists, operatives and workingmen, 
can get such names as I have mentioned above. 

Well, may it please your honor, what is the other way 
that we are to do, for our notes or drafts are due and they 
must come up before 2 o'clock this day, or we are all 
ruined men ? Why, go back to your stores or shops, you 
boobies and stupid fellows, and bring us all your country 
notes it is no matter if there is a peck measure full of 
good notes ; so much the better says the humane broker, 
and we will help you out of this scrape. So all these 
fair, honest and honorable merchants, traders, artists op- 
eratives and working men are shaved daily. These bro- 
kers say that all of them must pay a quarter per cent, per 
day, and leave their peck measures of good notes, which 
perhaps it has cost their life time of hard labor to get 
them ; all these must be pledged for the payment of the 
money that these men pay for, that they get that day, 
for the notes and drafts must be paid when due or they 
are all ruined, as every business man knows ; the next day 
there is another note or draft to pay. So they go as above, 
first to these humane banks and then to the humane bro- 
kers. So that these good, but poor devels are ate out of 
house and home in a very short time, and die Massachu- 
setts bankrupts .'ind l)egoars, as the Massachusetts report- 



16 



ers have reported, for the last 40 years that — 95 out of 
every 1 00 of these fair honorable business merchants, tra- 
ders, artists, operatives and working men have died by 
Massachusetts wanton usury. These brokers will not 
give any receipts for all said county or town notes that 
are left as collateral security, and often advance on the 
owners a half per cent, per day, which amounts to over 
216 per cent, per year ; as the lawyers tell these brokers 
not to give any receipts, if they do, it will amount to 
usury. Every art is used by the lawyers and bankers 
to wrong the honest and fair traders, &c., out of 
their last shilling, when these bankers and lawyers have 
loaned this money to these very brokers, to bleed these 
fair merchants, traders, artists, operatives and working 
men to death daily, I have known the greatest statesmen 
and politicians in this nation to go and fall down at the 
feet of these brokers and ask them how long they may 
live ; and these brokers have named the rate of usury to 
them, and that has told them the time they might live on 
this earth. Yet the Hon. John A. Bolles says that there 
is no such thing as democratical and republican usury in 
Massachusetts — that the usurers in Massachusetts are all 
pure saints, pure judges and pure lawyers, and as chaste 
and cool as the northern icicles for justice. And the 
Hon. Abbot Lawrence and the Hon. Henry Lee, and 
such like men in Massachusetts, allow such men as the 
Hon. John A. Bolles, No. 10, Court street, Boston, to lean 
on them for support in the highest usury. Usury in Massa- 
chusetts has come to this pass ; the man that draws a hand- 
cart up to the richest man with his millions, is using it in the 
highest usury, and they have the sanction of all the rich- 
est men and greatest judges and lawyers so to do. There 



17 

is not five lawyers or judges in Massachusetts that will 
side with the oppressed in usury. So that as a man fall- 
eth in usury, so he must lay till the last trumpet sounds. 
The Hon. John A. Bolles says, why should a living 
man complain of the just punishment for his sins. By 
not paying these lawful usurers the just amount of their 
usury, Mr Bolles has established the laws of usury in Mas- 
sachusetts, by saying that nothing can be more manifest 
than this subject is. One of a strictly private and per- 
sonal nature, on which every one has the right of unfet- 
tered judgment and conduct. And if any one, whether 
individual or society — whether government, judicial, leg- 
islative or executive, see fit to interfere, my only an(J 
sufficient reply, (is very polite, an elegant reply) is to 
each and all of tliem, distinctly and particularly, none 
of your business. See Mr Bolles under this head in his 
treatise on usury and usury laws. — (See his treatise.) 

I received as kind an answer from Judge Metcalf as I 
could reasonably expect, considering the particular situa- 
tion that he is in, as Judge of the supreme court of 
Massachusetts. I know or think I know, that Judge Met- 
calf is an enemy to Massachusetts great usury, over 
and on the 95 out of every 100 of her fair and honera- 
ble merchants, traders, artists, operatives, and working- 
men and women, and the best blood of our State ; and I 
should not wonder if more of the Judges were of his 
opinion, and some few counsellors at law, were of the 
same opinion, on this worse than Jewish Shylock 
usury. 

We smile at the late Hon. remembered Preston's usury 
and close nearness, but we venerate, worship and adore 
the usury and close nearness of our Honorable Sir 



18 

Peter Francisco. This is our genius and high school 
education ; we are trained from our infancy to do all this, 
and also we are trained from our infancy to abandon all 
those mighty principles and acts of Franklin, and 
Washington, and all such like men. Their heavenly prin- 
ciples, to assist all young men and women with money to 
a reasonable amount and at a fair rate of interest, to 
shove them through their earthly pilgrimage of joys and 
sorrows, toils and labor, good and evil, as was intended 
at first by the only living and true God of the universe, 
who is Father and Mother of them all, to lead them all in 
the track and footsteps of these mighty men that 1 have 
named above, through all their earthly pilgrimages to 
the Kingdom of Heaven, to rest them all from their earth- 
ly labors, toils and sorrows in immortal life and endless 
happiness. With their own Father God, we all see here, 
that it was intended at first by the God of the universe, 
that " all men, women and children of all colors and blood, 
and all serpents too, should labor with their hands, and by 
sweat of their faces shalt thou eat thy bread ;" so it was 
decreed by God to every man; and to the women He said, 
*' I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and in conception and 
sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall 
be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee." So we see 
that is the case of all women, and so with the serpents, "on 
thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the 
days of thy life. And Adam called his wife's name Eve 
because she was the mother of all living." But we see it was 
not intended by the God of the universe, that the five Ja- 
son, out of every one hundred should have all the fleece 
of the labor of ninety-five working men of fair Massa- 
chusetts traders, artists, and operatives. Notwithstand- 



19 

ing the opinion of the Hon. John A. Bolles, Counsellor 
at law, No. 10, Court Street, Boston, and his company 
of honorable Boston usurers. Perhaps it would be as 
well for us to read the whole of the holy Bible, like ra- 
tional beings ; as the sons and daughters of the only one 
living and true God of the universe ; and as joint heirs to 
this heavenly inheritance, without any prejudice whatev- 
er, for how are we to know good from evil, only by con- 
trast of this, our earthly state from our Heavenly state 
that is to be, when this God of the universe sees fit to 
place us all there. 

Since I became a free-holder forty-five years ago, I 
have noticed, after these business men have been com- 
pletely used up, as the brokers say, with this Boston 
usury, some of them have turned brokers and usurers 
of the worst sort themselves. I have asked said usurers 
and brokers how it was possible for said young men to 
pay so high usury to them, when they all know said usury 
had eat them up alive, as it were, and they all told me, 
to a man, that it was impossible for all these young men 
to do it — that they would all be consumed by it — but 
they must have a living among the Boston sharks, and if 
they did not take this great usury, other Boston sharks 
would. Now, this high usury has got to be a very high 
education in Boston and its vicinity. All these men that 
have been used up by these honorable usurers, arc com- 
pelled to venerate, worship, and adore all the worst 
of them by pure necessity, not by their free will and ac- 
cord, for these five Jason usurers and brokers have them 
completely in tlieir power. As all the laws, lawyers, and 
some of the Judges say amen, so mote it be. These five 
Jasons, out of every one hundred, can smk them all m 



20 

Noah's flood, or burn them all up in the Mark Antony fire 
of a Roman faction of usury. They must bow down to 
these men and beg of them a little corn, as the Romans 
did to their usurers, or as Shylock — beg that he might be 
hung at the States charge. 

I am told by a gentleman in Boston, that the Hon. Ab- 
bott Lawrence, at one time, in his business, was so situa- 
ted, that he had to stop, rather than put himself into these 
high usurer's hands, and he shew his great wisdom ; and 
so has many other truely wise men done, and they all 
shew their great wisdom, for if they had come into these 
high usurer's hands, they would all now be bankrupts and 
beggers, as we are. 

I expect you will say, Mr Adams, I am running myself 
against the lions and sharks of our days, but I cannot help 
it; 'something leads me forth of doors,' as Cinna the Roman 
said. I will say to you, as General Jackson said to his 
dupes and brave men, — "I take the responsibility ;" but 
now all the high and wise gentlemen of this great and 
honorable city of Boston say to the great mass, go usury 
the whole hog ! The Massachusetts legislative govern- 
ment, or the Massachusetts judiciary and executive gov- 
ernment are passing judgment and making laws on the 
shameful usury, in Massachusetts, when the Hon. John A. 
Bolles tells them all, that is none of their business, in 
a very polite way. See his treatise on usury and usury 
laws, December, 1837, No. 10, Court street, Boston. It 
is all a humorist and humbug. 

Why did Messrs. Metcalf and Mann make all this fuss 
and cost of time and money about nothing, when they 
knew before that the opinion of the Hon. Messrs. Bolles, 
Lawrence and Lee, on usury, was law and gospel in Mas- 



21 

sachusetts? Why did the Massachusetts Legislature 
set hammering so long on this usury question, when they 
all knew the opinion of Messrs. Bolles, Lawrence and Lee, 
on usury, in Massachusetts? Or why did the Massachu- 
setts Judiciary and Executive government see fit to inter- 
fere with this usury business, when they all fully knew the 
opinion of the Hon. John A. Bolles, Abbott Lawrence and 
Henry Lee ? Why, they all knew it was a hoax on travel- 
lers in Massachusetts ; that usury was to be increased to 
the highest rate, in order to accommodate the army of 
lawyers in Massachusetts. For strike out ususy and seven 
out of eight of the lawyers in Massachusetts would die a 
natural death. Usury and the lawyers in Massachusetts 
go hand in hand together to heaven, or to Maiden. King 
Richard the HI said — "fight gentlemen of England, fight 
brave yeoman, or spear your horses to the hilt." 

And do you, young gentlemen of Charlestown, want to 
see a new army of them cover your whole land ? if so, 
your high education, that you talk so much about, will pro- 
duce you nothing but a host of lawyers and churlish 
priests. 

This was my reason for writing to Judge Metcalf to get 
his opinion on usury in Massachusetts, as he and Mr. Mann 
made the new usury law in their Revised Statutes of Mas- 
sachusetts, in which they say — money, in Massachusetts, 
shall be six per cent, a year, and not six per cent, a month ; 
and no more directly or indirectly ; but the devil of it is, 
what does this indirectly mean, in Massachusetts ? why, I 
expect it means just nothing at all, and is only to feed the 
Massachusetts Lawyers to a double fee ; for if you ask 
them if there is no redress for this shameful usury, they 
will tell you that you can get back three times the amount 



of this shameful usury and extortion, and the very next 
hour they will tell the extortioner that he should have taken 
three times the amount of usury ; and, also, that the laws 
of Massachusetts were so fixed that they would support , 
him in it. 

Young men and young women of Massachusetts, are 
you all ripe for such a state of things as this? if you are, 
lay out all your money and means for this high school ed- 
ucation and high professional men with all this high edu- 
cation, and my word for it, the next generation will have 
more high education and pride, than bread and the sta- 
ples of life. 

We see the Massachusetts Legislature and judicial 
and executive governments, for the past years, have been 
very busily at work, and in a very great hurry, in making 
exclusive rights to help the few and destroy the many ; we 
see all the laws are to help the lawyers and destroy 
the great mass of the people, according to God Almighty 
one system, and Dr. Franklin's one system to assist the 
great mass ; we see that they have the whole control in 
the legislature, they can make all the laws to suit them- 
selves and the piece officers to their full fees. In our leg- 
islature they have done away with the Insolvent Act, pure- 
ly to assist themselves and their under officers. It is so 
fixed now, I understand, that no man or woman can go 
into chancery and take the benefit of the insolvent act, un- 
less he or she can pay fifty cents on a dollar. Now what 
justice is there in this ; after a man or woman has been 
shaved out of the last dollar by the authorised laws, how 
can they pay 50 cents on a dollar of their debts ? They 
cannot, and are consequently informed that they must go to 
goal, unless, as they arc told, their friends will pay, ratiicr 



23 

than see them go to prison, — When a man or a woman 
is shaved out of the last dollar hy this authorised usury 
they will have about as many friends as Kin<r Lear had, 
after havino; divided his three kint>doms between his two 
daughters! 

Now here appears in this dark cloud of Massachusetts 
despotism the beautiful bow of Governor Everett's mercy. 
On this subject of imprisonment for debt, Mr. Everett in 
his address to the legislature, in 1836, stated that, it was 
unconstitutional to put a man or woman to prison for 
debt, if they have nothing to pay, and cited Chief Justice 
Marshall's opinion of the United States Courts to prove 
it; and the Hon. Justice's opinion was that, no man or wo- 
man ever promised to give up their liberty to be impris- 
oned, and that they could not do it, any more than they 
could promise to give up their righ and liberty in the 
kingdom of Heaven ; this right is hid with the God of the 
universe from all earthly creditors. Mr. Everett lost 
his office as Governor the next year for this act of hu- 
manity to the millions of poor bankrupts, but he received 
the heavenly gratitude of millions of his fellow beings for 
this act of humanity, and his name stands embalmed 
for this act, hke the name of Washington, of immortal 
glory. I have no doubt that he now thinks this act of 
humanity, the happiest act of his life. 

But the lawyers and chief priest and all the profession- 
al men and petty officers sought his life, as they did Jesus 
of Nazareth, for the many humane acts that he did for a 
world of sinners, and these professional men and petty offi- 
cers to Governor Everett. The Hon. John A. Bolles 
very politely told judge Metcalf and the Hon. Horace 
Mann, and the Massachusetts legislature, and all the judi- 



24 

cial and executive, and all in power and office in Mas- 
achusetts, that it was none of their business ; and these 
professional gendemen it was that put governor Ever- 
ett out of office as governor of Massachusetts, the coming 
year. He might say as Jesus of Nazareth said, "for which 
of these humane acts do you stone me." If Jesus of Naz- 
areth and Saint Paul were now to come on this earth, 
these chief priests, elders and professional men and petty 
officers would crucify them for their humane good acts. 
I do not think that they would put them to death by cru- 
elly nailing their hands and feet to a cross, as capital pun- 
ishment is unfashionable now in Massachusetts; but 1 
think the lawyers, chief Priests, elders and petty officers 
of Massachusetts, would put them in the State prison for 
life, for these humane good acts unto a world of bank- 
rupts. This is my opinion of Massachusetts professional 
humanity, and I cannot help my opinion of what I see of 
them in their devotion, hanging to the last, to the worst 
of usury. It was not the mass of the poor that put Gov- 
ernor Everett out of office ; it was the professional men, 
they could not bear to see a single hair of their power of 
oppression to the great mass of the poor, taken from them. 
I do not think Jesus of Nazareth was a divine person, 
equal with God his Father and our Father, and Father of 
all the beings that he ever made. My opinion of Jesus 
of Nazareth is the same as Dr. Franklin's opinion was in 
the last hours of his hfe, when he was questioned by Dr. 
Stdes, president of Yale College, as to his belief in Chris- 
tianity — for Dr. Franklin was pumped by all the partialist 
of bigoted religionist as to his belief in Christianity — he 
told Dr. Stiles he beheved Jesus of Nazareth was the most 
moral man that ever appeared on this earth, or that would 



26 

ever appear on this earth, but as to his divinity as a God, 
being equal witti God, he did not bcheve it. Now my 
opinion is fully with Dr. Franklin ; I want no better guide 
in pure Christianity, pure politics, and impure •Massachu- 
setts high usury. I believe that Jesus of Nazareth was 
the most moral man that ever appeared on this earth 
doing good acts, or ever will. But I do not beheve that 
he was a divine person — equal with God — but a man en- 
dowed with extra moral virtues ; that he was sent into this 
world, in his time, to reveal the real character of the God 
of the universe, his father and our father, and father of all 
the beings he ever made or ever will make. This mixing 
Jesus of Nazareth witli the God of the universe, as being 
equal, you will see makes witch-work of all pure Christi- 
anity. The true, living God says to the universe — "Thou 
shalt have no other God beside me ; I am the only living 
and true God ; look unto me all ye ends of the earth and 
be ye all saved with my everlasting salvation." Jesus said 
himself, that he could do nothing only by the power of 
him that sent him. We see in ancient and modem history 
that God did, in all times, send his holy virtues and moral' 
prophets and prophetess's into the world to reveal and de- 
clare his real character. As a God of assistance unto all 
on this his earth, in their pilgrimage of joys and sorrows, 
toils and labors, through their earthly state, all these good 
prophets and prophetess's — all men and women, were on- 
ly acting as agents for God. Dr. Frankhn was a good 
moral prophet and acted as God's agent in his time and 
day. Did he not assist and do good to all ? Did he not 
help young men, women and children, in a christian way^ 
by loaning them money at a fair rate of interest, to help 
them all into and through life? Gentlemen, and Shylock 



26 

usurers on the Massachusetts rialtos, go, even now, and 
learn pure cliristian wisdom from Dr. Franklin's whole 
life I Cjeorge Washington and Dr. Franklin, and all such 
men in the American revolution, were sent hy the same 
God, into this world as his agents and revealers, as was 
Jesus in his time ; and on the same errand and message, 
to declare, proclaim and make known to a world that they 
were to be rationally free, with just and equal rights ; just 
and equal facilities; just and equal laws, and the just and 
equal administration of said just and equal laws. "Yet, 
saith the house of Israel, the ways of the Lord God is not 
equal." "O house of Israel, are not my ways equal, are not 
your ways unequal? Cast away from you all you trans- 
gressions whereby ye have transgressed, and make you a 
jiew heart and a new spirit, for why will ye die. O house 
of Israel, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, 
saith the Lord God ; wherefore turn yourselves and live 
ye." Now this same God is speaking to us in America, 
Tind in the same language. Let us all repent and cast 
away our transgressions, and make us all a new heart and 
a new spirit, for why should we die, O house of America. 
In this hot bed of party politics, usury and unequal rights, 
O house of ancient Charlestown ; Bunker Hill town, and 
Bunker Hill Bank in it, with such a fair and beautiful set 
of directors ; all honorable men, as Mark Antony said 
about Brutus, and the rest of the conspirators. 

In reading God's Holy Bible we find this — "Thus saith 
God ; thus saith the Lord ; thus saith the Lord God." — 
We should read, in all cases, the Lord as the agent and 
revealer of the God of the universe. All power in heav- 
en and earth comes from God Almighty, a divine being 
that made all in heaven and earth, that made all his be- 



27 

ings to have equiil and just rights ; equal and just laws, 
and those laws equally and properly administered ; and 
equal and just facilities in every thing in as fair a way as 
possible. Yet ye say, O House and State House of Mas- 
sachusetts Legislature, you will make laws to discommode 
eighteen millions of good honest people in a fair and safe 
travel over Warren Bridge, to accommodate one million 
of shavers of people. O House of Massachusetts proper. 
Bay State too, why will ye die, by being drowned or burnt 
up by these devilish fires of Rail Roads ? Shame on ye 
all! In making Jesus of Nazareth a divine person, equal 
with God, in power, we confuse and perplex the whole of 
God's Bible. It is a sealed book unto all of us if we do 
this. It was the great sin of the children of Israel, in wor- 
shiping other gods, instead of the only one living and true 
God. If we make Jesus a divine person we confuse our- 
selves dreadfully. You have, and will have, millions of 
divine persons, in shape of priests, partialists, papists and 
protestants ; orders of popes, bishops, catholics, &lc.; lor a 
bigoted partialist priest is a bigoted partialist priest, put 
what kind of a gown or coat on him you please. 

I have dwelt long in trying to prove that there is but one 
living and true God in the universe — only one divine per- 
son — as I think every thing rests with us on this {)roof 
alone, in this, our earthly life, and on our immortal life 
in the Kingdom of Heaven. Those calling themselves di- 
vine partialist and bigoted priest, in their religion, have put 
forever a full stop to all pure Christianity. It is mipossible 
lor any man, woman or child, to approach their own CJod 
of the universe ; they put stumbling l)locks between them 
and their own God. O all ye partialists and priests, had 
i^<i known what this meaneth: — that this our GoH --^ ti « 



28 

universe "will have mercy and not sacrifice," you would 
not preach your nonsensical doctrines in this enlightened 
age. 

I was struck with one of these stumbling blocks, on 
reading a sermon of the Rev. divine Theodore Parker, 
on immortal hfe, delivered in Boston, Sept. 20th, 1846. 
Mr. Parker has some heavenly sentiments on the bigoted 
and partialist religion of the priesthood, in Boston and 
otlier places, such as God's repenting, revenge, anger, 
wrath, fury and rage. God is all mercy and assistance to 
every creature he ever made, or ever will make, on this, 
his earth, or in His Kingdom of Heaven. What a child- 
ish idea these partialists have all got of the only one living 
and true God of the universe. Mr. Parker scouts the 
heathenish sentiments of all these partialist priests in the 
world, as ungodly sentiments ; — and here I agree with 
him, but 1 do not agree with his sentiments on Jesus of 
Nazareth. Mr. Parker calls Jesus, in his sermon on im- 
mortal life, Christ, and says the " bravely good men in 
Boston," &LC. ; and there are some not so bravely good 
men and women, we presume, in Boston and its vicinity. 
In some future age the time will come, when each of us, 
the Boston " bravely good men and women," shall have 
more mind and heart and soul, than Christ on earth ; more 
than all men now on earth, have ; yes, more than they, 
and all the souls of men ever passed to Heaven. We 
shall have each one of us, more being than they all have 
had, and more truth, soul, faith, rest and bliss of life. We 
presume these Boston bravely good men are bravely rich 
men, and ten to one on a bet, they are brave usurers, and 
will be found the wrong side of the gulf, in Abraham's 
bosom. For we read that it was the poor man that went 



29 

to Abraham's bosom ; so we read now, that tlie great God 
of the universe, has a very poor opinion of the lioston 
usurers indeed. We see this part of Mr. Parker's ser- 
mon is a vain, flighty, fanciful thing, just calculated to 
please a vain, self-righteous, bravely rich people, like the 
Boston people. Mr. Parker has very vainly helped us all 
out of this dilemma, of a partialist priesthood ; for a par- 
tialist priest, is a partial priest, if he lives in the great city 
of Boston or the little city of North Maiden, but we will 
admit at once, Mr. Parker, that it is worth more money 
to save these bravely rich men and women in this large 
city of Boston, than it is in the small city of North Mai- 
den. But what faith, belief, or hope, can any of us, rich 
or poor, have in immortal life, if Jesus of Nazareth, as 
Dr. Franklin said, was the most moral man that ever ap- 
peared on this earth, or ever likely to appear, if not e(iual, 
at least, to Mr Parker's bravely good men. When all our 
greatest light of immortal life of endless ha})piness came 
unto a world, by this man, Jesus of Nazareth, by the rev- 
elation of sacred truths from the God of the universe, to 
a sinful world that he is a God of mercy, and not sacri- 
fice, to a sinful world. See Mr. Parker's sermon on im- 
mortal life for yourselves, fellow citizens. Also, Dr. 
Gannett's sermon, on the inspiration of the Scriptures. 1 
liave not got the Doctor's sermon before me, but 1 will 
take his meaning as well as 1 can by recollection ; deliv- 
ered, say, February, 1847, in Boston. The doctor says 
the sufficiency of the Scriptures and the right of private 
interpretation, were the two great principles from and on 
which the protestant reformation proceeded ; they are the 
great principles to which the protestant religion has pro- 
tessed to adhere, ever since they were assential to religious 



30 

liberty. Now I say, says the doctor, that is the only text 
which is really part to the subject. 

Peter 11, 26 ; John 16, 21. I don't know as 1 havegot 
the Doctor's quotations correct here, but it will not 
matter in the general subject ; and the Dr. says look at 
Psalms 136, &c., the spirit of fiery vengence breathes 
through such writings ; tell me not, says the Doctor, that 
it is inspired language, not while a righteous and merciful 
God sits upon the thrown of the universe. Now we would 
like to get the Doctor upon the thrown of the universe of 
a righteous and merciful God, on this earth a little while, 
and then he would know what scriptural inspiration meant 
in reality, not nominally. 

Now what is scripture inspiration. Doctor ? Why, it is 
action, good or evil spirit, excitement, movement, and 
every step we take in all our Uves. Our text don't say that 
the Almighty God of the universe gave this scripture in- 
spiration to one man or many men, but to all men, wo- 
men and children, of all colors and blood, that he ever 
made or ever will make. See Elihue, in the Book of 
Job — "for there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of 
the x\lmighty hath given him understanding"; but how 
very feeble does it a])pear to us when we confine it to fee- 
ble mortals like ourselves ; we must say, by all means, all 
have, or we wrong ourselves, for on this point alone rests 
the whole salvation of a world in immortal hfe of endless 
rest and eternal happiness. It is this something, as Cinna 
the Roman poet said, "that leads me forth of doors into 
the mob of murderers". Alter the conspirators had mur- 
dered Ca)sar, the mob say to him, Cinna, "who arc you 
and what are you, a married man or a bachelor ? answer, 
(juickly, truly and wisely," Quickly, truly and wisely, he 



31 

answered, "I am n l)achelor." "Then you despise all 
married men ; pluck out his heart and set him a going!" 
Cinna tiien exclaimed, "1 am Cinna the poet! 1 am C'in- 
na the poet!" "Then we will hang you for your bad 
verses." Now you see, Doctor, Cinna Avas inspired hy 
the God of the universe to go forth of doors, for his time 
had come to pass from the world. And so with every man, 
woman and child; this samr^ God provides the ways and 
means to take all out of this world to a better one. This 
inspiration is cause, effect, way and means; this is what is 
meant by this God of all, "breathing into the nostrils of all 
he ever made, the breath of life, and all of them became 
living souls." Then this scripture inspiration operated on 
every one of them, from the time they came into this 
world, till they all go out to a better ; even the kingdom 
of heaven. Every one of us are inspired every moment 
of our lives, to go forth of doors to do what we call good 
or evd. Did not this same God inspire the evil king Saul 
to rule and govern the children of Israel, 11 is chosen peo- 
ple, very badly, for their sins and transgressions. Do we 
not at this very moment see the bad conduct of the late 
evil king of France, towards all his subjects. The late 
king of France was a great usurer ; he would not say to 
all his subjects to go their way and eat their bread in 
peace, and drink their wine with a merry heart, for that 
was all their portion and allotment under a real republi- 
can form of government ; or under a good kingly govern- 
ment. And so all these subjects were inspired to tell said 
king to go his way, and eat his bread, and drink his wine; 
not in peace, but in a civil war, the worst way in the 
world; and said king was inspired to go his way as he did. 
What a lesson our sister republic, France, is now givnig 



US ; this American republic, to be ready for our downfall, 
and get rid of our kings and noble bad rulers. Said 
king &;c. of France, were very bad usurers ; they wanted 
all the wealth, magnificence, self-fame and assumption of 
power over their subjects to their heart. Said king and 
nobles wanted all the bread and wine on the kingdom of 
earth, and the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Now, Doctor, every man that draws a hand-cart with 
fish or lobsters in your streets in Boston, to sell, is as 
much inspired as Marshal Tukey was, when he took Ry- 
an out of his castle by the hair of his head, on the Sabbath 
day, to prison, unconstitutionally. Tlie beauty and holi- 
ness of our form of government, and our heavenly nation- 
al constitution, is, that all in it are Scripturely inspired to 
be rationally free, with equal and just rights, as the God 
of the universe intended. The great command from him 
is to call no man or woman common. Tliis partial scrip- 
tural inspiration, and Mr. Parker's partially calling a por- 
tion of men and women bravely good, far above Jesus of 
Nazareth, is what has caused all the usury and all our 
troubles in this vast nation since our republican govern- 
ment was founded, and this heavenly national constitution 
was made by them heavenly men to support said govern- 
ment ; and also all the usury and trouble that we now see 
in this vast world, by such men as you and Mr. Parker's 
preaching partial scriptural inspiration, and partial good- 
ness; far above the goodness and humane morality of 
Jesus ; be assured gentlemen, if you tell all these vain 
men and women that they are so bravely good, and brave- 
ly rich, that they will soon find it out, to the injury of the 
great mass of the people, as king Richard the III. did. 
*'Bless me, the women all cried, he is born with teeth." 



33 

That is as much as to signify that I shall bite and snarl 
and play the dog, said Richard. This partial inspiration 
and partial bravely good men, gentlemen, places you no 
higher in pure Christianity than the orthodox bigoted reli- 
gionists, or the papist popery of the Catholics bigoted re- 
ligion, the partialist protestant, and the partialist papeat, 
in religion, are synonymous — the one and the same thing 
in the God of the universes eye. All you gentlemen in the 
ministry, that are sent into this world by God, as agents 
tor him to preach his gospel of assistance unto all his crea- 
tures. As Jesus was sent as God's agent, or as the late 
minister Tuckerman was sent as God's agent, to preach 
and assist all, by plucking the ears of corn, and pulling 
the sheep out of the wells on the Sabbath days, and giving 
them freely unto the poor in all your parishes, as your 
late brother Tuckerman did. He went about doing 
good, all the days of his life, as Jesus of Nazareth did. 
They were both God's agents, appointed to do good unto 
a world of people. He, Mr Tuckerman, did dive into the 
cellars in Broad street, and all other places, to do good 
unto the poor and miserable unhappy beings that be- 
longed to the God of the universe. He performed mira- 
cles in this way ; but you ministers and deacons of Bos- 
ton and its vicinity, seem to want all the riches, magnifi- 
cence, self-fame and assumption of power over the great 
mass of all your hearers. You seem to want to dive and 
drive into all the rich, royal palaces in the rich cities, to 
pluck all the ears of corn and all the sheep for yourselves, 
alone, — you seem to want to emass all said riches, mag- 
nificence, self-fame, and assumption of power unto your- 
selves. Were now, are your Tuckermans of our days ; 
they are as scarce as the Franklins of our days. You 
5 



34 

seem to want to drive the poor of all your parishes to their 
last shilling, to agrandise yourselves alone — you seem to 
want to drive your own develish partial principles and 
acts down the throats of your own supporters — you seem 
to want your Meeting-houses to be palaces, and your ste- 
ples to tower to the skies — and you seem to want your 
poor parishioners to pay for it if it takes the last loaf of 
bread out of their mouths by your usury ; for when usu- 
ry commenced its spoiling ravages in Massachusetts in 
1 803, the ministers and deacons of this pai'tialist protes- 
tant religion, was the first to play the game of all fours in 
this usury. In them days, their parishioners could not, 
and would not pay them but a small salary, but gave 
them a grant, that they might make as much as they 
could out of usury, and many of them made snug fortunes 
by it, so that they could bring up their sons and daughters 
to this high education of usury in Massachusetts, and here 
they are with us now, like the two sons of Samuel that 
were appointed by their father to be judges to follow after 
Lucre, take bribes and pervert judgment. I knew a 
number of Massachusetts ministers in them days that had 
a very small salary, that left fortunes to be used in this 
granted Massachusetts usury ; and this is where I pre- 
sume the Hon. John A. Bolles, Abbot Lawrence and 
Henry Lee, and all such Hon. men get their scripture 
proof for this daumablc usury in Massachusetts. But 
Messrs. Parker and Gannett, let us depart from this damna- 
ble scene of Massachusetts usury, and repent as Mr. Job 
did, in dust and ashes, when the Lord God spoke to him 
out of the whirlwind; and then perhaps we may have twice 
as much good morality — not in cash — as we had before. 
But as things stand now in Massachusetts, in the usury 



35 

line, who can tell if thou, my dears will ever remem- 
ber us. Let us all return to the bright star of temperance 
that has appeared unto us all in our day and generation, 
for to be temperate in all thuigs, is the beauty of all 
our hohness. 



TEMPERANCE. 



In religion or politics, I think strong drink is the com- 
manding officer of all the bad passions in the human 
breast. I consider intemperance the greatest sin man 
commits, on himself or his fellow men or women in his 
earthly state. Strong drink starts all the evil passions in- 
to action, when taken in too great quantities ; and so it 
also starts all the good passions into action, into the hu- 
man breast, ^vhen taken in a reasonable quantity. T^ord 
Byron could not write his beautiful stanzas without it ; 
and so with our greatest orators, statesmen, pleaders, pol- 
iticians and patriots. The patriots in the American Rev- 
olution, first touched their glasses at the Green Dragon 
tavern in Boston, and then went into battle for the ration- 
al liberty and just rights of a world. We read that 
righteous Noah, the first thing he did after he come out of 
the Ark, was to plant a vineyard, and was drunken of the 



36 

wine thereof; yet he found favor in the sight of God af- 
ter he got drunk. He had all the promises of God — he 
saw the bow in the cloud, as the everlasting covenant from 
God to him, and all flesh. He had the solemn promise 
of God Almighty, with all flesh, and all his family, and 
every living creature upon the earth — that the God "would 
not flood the earth again with water to destroy all flesh, and 
that there should be seed time and harvest." This gentle- 
man, Chief Priest and Elder, is the Almighty God we all 
look to for afl the blessings we receive on this, his earth, 
or that we shall receive in His Kingdom of Heaven at 
last. No drunkard in the gutter, since Noah appeared 
worse than Noah did, for he was uncovered and his sons 
had to go backwards for fear of displeasing him. But 
this is no excuse for us ; the soul that sinneth, shall die 
a temporal death — not an eternal death, as some partialist 
priests will seem to have it ; yet we read that the drunkard 
is in hell torments ; well, what fool don't know that, that 
ever got drunk. Noah was in hell torments if he had any 
shame in him, if the account is correct that we read, 
king David says, he was taken from the lowest hell. Dr. 
Franklin says that he was in hell after he had signed the 
treaty of peace of 1782, with our mother country, without 
the knowledge oi" the court of France, and contrary to 
the instructions from his Congress, and to the treaty of 
alliance, till the high grace of Count de Vergenness drew 
him out of this hell by his forgiveness. Dr. Franklin here 
saw that there was a stain on his own honor, and a stain 
on the high honor of his whole country, like the blood 
on Macbetlfs hands; that ail the waters and blood of the 
American Ptcvolutiou, cannot wholly wash out this ingrat- 
itude iind ijiciiicentv ni the Americau minister.^ then. Il 



37 

matters not what France was before, or what she has 
been since, it is what she was then. Perliaps I shall say 
more on this subject in some future number. 

But all this hell that partialis! priest, papists and protes- 
tants tell so much about, is on this earth, where the sins 
are committed, and the punishment for all sins are on 
this earth. It appears to me that men, women and chil- 
dren, must be very simple and weak indeed to think that 
there is any hell or punishment in the Kingdom of Hea- 
ven. I do not see what there is there to punish men for ; 
and the same God tells Adam, from the begining, and all 
of us, that — "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou re- 
turn"; but the soul, with the spirit and the understanding 
of the inspiration of God, of every man, woman and child, 
of all colors and blood, shall return to the God that gave 
it. We would reason very unjustly to think that the Kin- 
dom of Heaven was a place of punishment. It is a place 
for God's grace and mercy, Now when the prophet Eze- 
kiel says — "Thus saith the Lord God, the soul that sin- 
neth it shall die," it means only a temporal death, as we 
say, a man or a woman is dead, while they are alive in sin 
and transgression, or, dead drunk if you please. Now he 
or she will be punished here on this very spot of earth 
where they get so dead drunk. Here is hell enough, la- 
dies and gentlemen, without going to the Kingdom of Hea- 
ven for it. God knows, and man and woman also, of the 
case of righteous Noah, getting completely swamped with 
wine, and then his receiving afterward mighty favors from 
God, should teach us all that He requires of us humane 
treatment to the drunkard ; not to assist them for what 
change they may have in their pockets ; and thank (Jod 
that he has given' you all i)owcr to cuuiuiund them, as 



38 

yourself, by liis grace ; for "by his grace arc you saved 
from drunkenness." This same God giveth grace and mer- 
cy to all his creatures on earth as well as in heaven, and 
you should not make merriment of such poor miserable be- 
ings, for they are all brothers and sisters of one common 
family. But I see our friend Whieldon and Post, and 
many of the humane Boston papers can have the face to 
make all manner of merriment out of the poor fallen man 
and woman, and these Democratic Repubhcan Mark An- 
tony politicians, clergy, justices, lawyers and peace offi- 
cers, make a great business of it they tell me ; and we 
hard drinkers and hard eaters join in the merriment. If 
we are not down as low as righteous Noah was, we can 
stimulate, excite and be inspired, till mid-night or mid- 
morning, with all kinds of exciting amusements, eatables 
and drinkables : — 

We want to be at all of the watering places, in the sum- 
mer and fall, and in the high places of amusement in the 
city, in the spring and winter, — if a poor man or woman 
worn down with labor and care, is seen to take a drop, 
then there is the devil to pay with this army of justices, 
piece officers, &c. I will tell you what, fellow citizens of 
this vast nation, every dollar these councellors, justices, 
peace officers, &:c., have taken from these poor fellows, 
men and women, and every dollar that has been taken 
from the venders and sellers of strong drinks, has been un- 
constitutionally taken, and they can get it back again if 
there is one spark of just law left in this vast nation. Men 
or women do not get drunk lor the sake of getting drunk 
and laying in the gutter. There are causes for him or her 
getting drunk ; some deep trouble he or she feels, some 
death like sinking ; they take the last glass with hopes that 



39 

it will rouse and rostoro thorn to moral action, but it only 
sinks tlicni into deeper disi^race, and then, when too late, 
they discover it. Is not this hell enough, ladies and gentle- 
men? If you want a greater hell than this you must go 
to some one that knows more about it than I do, unless it 
is to a brokers shop as a bankrupt. Portia, the Roman 
queen, swallowed fire when she knew that Mark Antony's 
power was great and strong over her lord and husband, 
Brutus — Michael Cashio, when he was over persuaded by 
the artful lago to take another glass, paid severely for it : 
"My reputation, lago! my reputation, lago! gone forever, 
past all surgery; If I ask my general for my former place, 
he will tell me that I am a drunkard and talk fustian," 
&c.; by this we see the great evils of hard drinking; yet 
Michael Cashio ruled in Cyprus after all this. Hard eat- 
ing and high seasoned food, we preseme, is hurtful to the 
constitution, as well as hard drinking, but it has not yet 
received that condemnation from the fashionable world, 
that hard drinking has. 

All excitements that arc overcharged, are hurtful and 
sinful to the public and private constitutions. 1 never sec 
this army of reformed men and women pass me, that I do 
not fall prostrate into the dust, in my feelings ; and so 
does the judge real from his bench, if he is a hard drink- 
er. There is not a man in this whole army but that is 
greater than he tliat taketh a city ; they have command- 
ed themselves by the grace of God. No generation be- 
fore, has seen this bright star of temperance reform but 
this. Kings and prophets have died without this heaven- 
ly sight. We sec and hear of this mighty army moving 
on like an avalanche through the world. Foreign des- 
pots and home petty tyrants are falling into its ranks spon- 



40 

taneously and voluntarily. This star of temperance reform 
is a bow in the cloud, with the sacred promise of the 
Almiglity to a world, that the time is not far distant when 
the nations of this earth shall learn war no more, and all 
shall know the Lord God's mighty virtues of assistance 
and gratitude, the one unto the other. But this mighty 
reform in temperance has not been brought about by the 
professional men or the clergy ; it is a spontaneous and 
voluntary reform of the mass, by the grace of God to 
them. He has inspired them, doctor Gannett, to reform. 
I should like to know the Hon. Daniel Webster's opinion 
on the constitutionality of this law, that allows the petty 
justices and officers to fleece all these men and women out 
of their property, for eating their own bread in peace, and 
drinking their own wine with a merry heart, provided 
they did not disturb this pious nation's morality. 



THE LAWS. 



Now let us say a few words on the laws of our vast 
nation. Our forefathers and foremothers brought from 
their mother country in one bundle, all their laws, good, 
bad and indifterent. Their good laws are very good, and 
their bad laws are very bad, and their indifferent laws are 
barely passable, and their wager laws, as they call theny 
are outrageous outlawry, which puts all the mass out 
of the protection of all the laws. 

Some time ago, in the controversy between the Hon. 
David Henshaw, Secretary of the Navy, and the Hon. 
Governor Morton, late one of the judges, and now of the 
Reverent Revenue Society of the income of honor and 
profit of the nation, Mr. Henshaw said, as to the matter 
of that, there was no court of justice in Massachusetts, 
of the real right of trial by jury — and that the counsellors 
and judges were the court. Mr. Bunkingham, of the Bos- 
ton Courier, and Mr. Green, of the Boston Post, being 
two gentlemen of opposite politics, confirmed it. Now 
the nation that abandons the right of trial by a jury of 

her own countrymen are not worthy the name of a re- 
6 



42 

public; for a just jurisprudence, for a just judicature, 
coupled with a just jury of our own nation, are tlie only 
rocks that any republic rests on. The colonies had bet- 
ter never have separated from their mother country than 
be ruled here at home with her wager laws. See Eng- 
land's wager laws as they call them. You will find them 
in Noah Webster's dictionary. 



POLITICS. 



Now let us say a few words on the first origin of our 
politics in these United States, before and since the Amer- 
ican revolution. There has been but two real political 
parties in these United States — one for all the professional 
men and the clergy, and the other for all the working men 
and operatives, both men and women. The Hon. Dan- 
iel Webster, or some other good statesman and politician, 
said in one of his field speeches, that fifteen sixteenths 
of the great mass of the people in America, were working- 
men and operatives, and one sixteenth, professional men 
and clergymen. By this, you will see, fellow citizens, 
that it takes two thousand working men and operatives to 
support one hundred of said professional men and clergy; 



43 

that is to say, their net earnings ; they must let them have 
a small part of their earnings to support nature, or they 
could not labor and operate for said gentlemen and ladies. 
There are some little squads of party politics, such as Ma- 
sons, Anti-masons, Abolitionists, Native Americans, Free- 
will ladies societies, &c. &c. But they all emerge into 
the two great political parties when we have a foreign or 
civil war. After the American Revolution, there were 
but two parties, and tliey took their names as democrats 
or republicans, and as federalists. The Hon. John 
Adams sided with the federalists, professional men 
and clergy, and the Hon. Thomas Jefferson sided with 
the democrats or republican party, the working-men and 
operatives, so called then. But the trouble that has been 
with us all in America, is this, we as a nation, have de- 
parted from those mighty principles and acts of those 
mighty men, such as Franklin and Washington, and gone 
over to the aristocracy, if not to the despotism of the old 
world. As the Hon. Dan. Webster said, on the top of 
Bunker-Hill Monument, the 17th of June, 1843, if you 
wish to be a virtuous patriotical nation, we must be indi- 
vidually so. We see what has grown out of this American 
Revolution. It has produced some Ciceros as statesmen 
and politicians, and many Mark Antony politicians, calling 
the great mass of the people their sweet masters, for the 
sake of their sweet voices, and then saying, mischief is on 
foot, let it walk on. Perhaps there is no two men among 
us in Massachusetts, that has had more influence in the 
politics of Massachusetts and these United States, than 
Mr Buckingham of the Boston Courier, and Mr. Green 
of the Boston Post. Mr. Buckingham sided with the pro- 
fessional men &c. ; Mr. Green with the muss of working- 



44 

men &c. Mr. Post has had the democracy in Charles- 
town, under his Guardian care for twenty years, and he 
can whip them into the traces, and then whip them out, at 
his pleasure. Several years ago when we had some 
little trouble with our ministers and doctors of the gospel, 
in the women hue, he in a very sluring way said, "what is 
the trouble with the ministers and doctors across the wa- 
ters." Every one of us, men and women, knew what 
Green meant, and we can just say to Mr Post, that our 
ministers and doctors arc full equal to tlie Boston minis- 
ters and doctors, and are men and women of as great 
caliber as the Boston ladies and gentlemen. 

Who could think in this deep Christian land, that the 
Hon. Charles Green, could, with his beautiful smiling face, 
say what he did about the Hon. General Caleb Cushing, 
at the late human Christian dinner at Faneuil-Hall — that 
cradle of American liberty, as it was formerly in the days 
of the mighty councellors, chieftains, warriors and soldiers 
of the American Revolution ; Franklin, Washington and 
all their associates in the council chambers, and battle 
fields of their country. I do not say, gentlemen, that 
General Cushing has been inhuman or barbarously cruel 
to his soldiers, fighting men and warriors under him in this 
late Mexican war ; for this has got to be proved in our 
courts of justice, by a jury of his own countrymen, if 
we have any such courts left in our country. I do not 
wish or want to condemn any American in power, or out 
of power, without a fair trial by a fair jury of his own 
countrymen, for this is the only rock that our American 
Republic stands on. But I do say gentlemen, of the North 
and South, that the Hon. Caleb Cushing has been a Mark 
Aiiloiiy jKjlilician, ever since he became a freeholder in 



45 

this American Republic. His great object seemed to be 
for self-fame, magnificence and assumption of power for 
himself alone ; he could turn and turn, smile and smile, 
and yet be an American politician. But our bigoted poli- 
tics and religion in America, has got to such a pass with 
us all, that none of us seem to know on what ground we 
stand on, or what kind of government or national con- 
stitution we have got. A stranger might think w^e had an 
oligarchy form of government, which places the supreme 
power in the hands of a small number; is of a kind of aris- 
tocratical form of government. But I think, gentlemen 
and ladies of this vast nation, we all shall soon know 
what ground we stand on, and lay on. The movements that 
we have seen and heard, of late, in our sister Republic, 
France, and through the world, tell us all to be getting 
ready for a similar revolution in America. We seem to 
have all the materials for it, and I expect it will come 
on us like a thief in the night The great mass of the 
people of Rome and France did not know of the great 
troubles that was coming on them, and had but short no- 
tice of it ; they knew the few leaders were plotting some- 
thing for their evil or good. It is the few in all nations 
that make the war and peace business. 



— =^^^??(>l^iJ©^^^l)^5=— 



DISSOLUTION OF THE UNION. 



Now gentlemen, if you please, let us say a few words on 
the separation of these vast United States: I, for one, 
think the time has arrived for a separation of this Union ; 
peaceably and without tumult while we can, and not forci- 
ble when we must. The northern section saint holders 
say, that they will not be ruled and officered by the south- 
ern sectional slaveholders, and the southern section say 
that they will not be ruled and officered by the northern 
sectional saint holders. This envy and lago jealousy 
seems to be the great trouble with us all, and we all seem to 
want the greater portion of the offices of profit and hon- 
or. It is a scripture doctrine that when two cannot agree 
to walk together, except they be agreed, it is best for them 
to separate. This vast nation is only one great family ac- 
cording to our form of government and that heavenly na- 
tional constitution, that was made by those mighty men to 
support said government. If we are determined to des- 
troy said form of government and said national constitu- 
tion, vv'ith a Roman or French fire of faction, why in the 
name of heaven would it not be best to do so peaceable, 
and at once, than to be forced to do so by faction at last ? 
Did the Colonies lose any thing bv a separation from the 



47 

"mother country ;" ditl tlioy not better themselves in trade 
and cverythig else? — while we kept to oursolvos, accor- 
(Hng to our tbrm of government and our national consti- 
tution, did we suffer by separation from our sister Maine, 
&c.? No, it was better for us all in every respect. 

But many people here at the north say, and seem to 
think, that this separation would be a dreadful thing, and 
that we should be fighting with each other all the 
time. But we shall never be in a better fiMitintT trim than 
we are now. They tell us that Washington's last words 
were — "United we stand, divided we fall;" well, so they 
were, but he said also, that we must be united at any rate. 
United? well, we are now, and so arc two bull dogs in a 
pitched battle ; or, as Othello and lago were, for their mu- 
tual interest. If the mighty councellors, warriers, chief- 
tains and soldiers ; Franklin, Washington, and all their as- 
sociates, were here now in this vast nation to sec what is 
and has been going on, between the south and north, they 
would say, to a man, divide and separate at once, for they 
would all see that circumstances altered cases. 

It was the fear of Franklin and Washington, in the last 
hour of their lives, that this mutual good feeling that was 
brought about by the American Revolution, would be 
broken and dissolved. Dr. Franklin said, when the trea- 
ty of peace was signed, in 1782, that the American gov- 
ernment would be broken and dissolved — and he knew 
the genius and high education of the American j^oople — 
for they would rake heaven and earth for an ollice ol' hon- 
or and profit. And have we not all seen it, years ago, 
proved true to the letter ; and as Mr. Fletcher says, "to the 
very comma?" And so did Washington see it in tlio last 
of his presidency, in the bad feeling springing up between 



48 



John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Did Mr. Adams 
leave the presidential chair politely to his successor ? No, 
they were enemies all their lifetime, till, by the grace of 
God, they were made friends in the last hours of their 
lives. Have we not all seen for years thousands of Mark 
Antony politicians in full speed for the "white house," with 
tribes of office seekers at their heels ? We must all see 
that it is impossible, with this lago jealousy, for this vast 
nation to be united for the mutual benefit of all, as was in- 
tended by Washington and Franklin in the American Rev- 
olution. And who are the men and women that have des- 
troyed this heavenly mutual good feeling, &:c., between 
the south and north ? Let the men that have done this 
deed by their everlasting scandal answer. The young men 
of this vast nation don't believe in the sighs and groans of 
these sainted Shylocks and Mark Antony politicians in the 
United States. To the southern slaves they are as false 
as dicers oaths, and, depend on it there is a sequel, a dou- 
ble sequel in all these men and women. If you had made 
this separation years ago, you would not have liad this Mexi- 
can war, with all its ruin. The South would not have de- 
clared it on their own account. If you divide at the Ma- 
son and Dixon hne, or any other line that will suit the par- 
ties best, you at the northern section can have a president, 
rulers and officers to rule and officer you to suit your com- 
plexion exactly, or nearly so. Say, if you please, you 
can have the Hon. Daniel Webster, with all his mighty 
powers, as a statesman, to make your treaties and to save 
you from ruinous wars with all nations. He will de- 
clare war and make peace when the high honor of the 
sectional part of your country require it, and he will 
draw around him, men that will co-operate with him for 



1 



49 

your good and just rights in every tiling. You will have 
no more of Massachuseets one-sided exclusive right prin- 
ciples, for the good of the few and the evil of the many. 
But we may all set our hearts at rest about our having a 
northern president, till this union separation takes place; 
for the South will hang on like bull dogs for the control of 
this vast nation, to keep their own property from the 
grasp of northern usurers. 

Mr. Webster might now be the president of these vast 
United States, if the high whigs of Massachusetts had used 
him honorably, after he returned from making that boun- 
dary treaty with our " mother country's" agent, and for 
other great services, as a great statesman and politician, 
which he has done for his whole country since he came 
into public life, in 1812. The rest of the nation could 
and would not resist or oppose his election to the presi- 
dency. But how did these high whigs, as they call them- 
selves, treat Mr. Webster at Faneuil-Hall, on his return, 
after his midnight hours over his lamp, making said 
treaty, that saved his whole country from a ruinous war 
with the most powerful nation in the world ? Why, they 
told him as Duke Frederic told Orlando : " you have 
wrestled well, Orlando — you have thrown more than your 
enemies ; would that you belonged to another house." I 
have known Mr. Webster's public life ever since the war 
with our mother country of 1812, and taken some notice 
of it, as I had something to do with that war myself, and 
I am not ashamed to have the officers that were stationed 
at Charlestown then, that are now alive, say what I did 
by way of assisting the army, &:c. I do not say this 
by way of boasting ; but I see men now, that are boast- 
ing very large of what they did then, and what they are 
7 



50 

doing now, to assist their country, countrymen and 
women, with tlieir great patriotism. In my liumble opin- 
ion, they were then, and are now, quite Mark Antony 
patriots. Much was said in them days and since, about 
the Hartford Convention ; and many of Mr. Webster's 
enemies have tried to bring him into it unfairly. My 
opinion of this Hartford Convention is, that there were 
as many friends to their country in it, as there were out 
of it ; as a goodly number of Mark Antony patriots and 
politicians have made their jack of clubs out of it. It was 
a time then of very great excitement. Our whole coun- 
try then, as now, was on a pivot of excitement ; we all 
seemed to be standing on barrels of powder and balls. 
One gun fired then would have placed this whole nation 
in the situation that we see our sister republic, France, 
placed in now. These men in the Hartford Convention- 
then, after the Hon. Samuel Dexter told them the danger 
they were in, repented, as Mr. Job did after the Lord 
God spoke to him out of the whirlwind, in dust and ashes. 
These men had every thing to lose and nothing to gain ; 
not so with the Mark Antony patriots in them days and 
these. I should write the history of them days more par- 
ticular, if I had time and space ; perhaps I shall at some 
future day, in my history, from the time of the American 
Revolution to the present. 

If I know any thing about General Taylor, I think he 
would be rejoiced to have the Hon. Daniel Webster, pres- 
ident of these vast United States, with his great states- 
manship ; and that he would figTit under his directions, 
as bravely as he did under President Polk's, if occasion 
required it. But should General Taylor be elected Presi- 
dent, which I hope he will, if the Hon. Daniel Webster 



61 

is not, I think he will have Mr. Webster as near him as 
his first counsellor as the Hon. Abbot Lawrence, or the 
Hon. Caleb Gushing, or the Hon. Charles G. Green, or 
any of such like honorables. 

If this separation of these States should take place at 
once, tlie southern sectional part can have a president that 
will suit their complexion exactly, or nearly so. Say if 
they please, they can have the Hon. John C. Calhoun; 
he is also, a great statesman and patriot, and can draw 
around him, statesmen of his complexion, exactly, or 
nearly so, to support them all honorably ; but this is their 
business, not ours. 1 have no doubt, in my own mind, 
that if we can bring about this separation, peaceably and 
honorably, it will be greatly for the interest and future 
happiness of both sections ; and then they at the south 
can take humane care of their colored slaves ; and we at 
the north, can take care of our slaves, of no color at all, 
by sending them to jails and prisons, as chief justice Mar- 
shall said, unconstitutionally. 

Governor Everett, in his address to the Massachusetts 
Legislature of 1 836, put this slave question in its proper 
light ; he took the constitutional grounds, &c. See his 
address on this subject of Jan. 7, 1836. Much more pro- 
perly, I think, than the late Hon. John Quincy Adams has 
in all his treaties and addresses to all the abolitionist, at 
all parts of the north, and some at the south. He has in- 
deed, jaded them all round to hear his addresses on this 
slave question, and the right of petition, and then tells all 
these abolitionists that he is no abolitionist, only as Thom- 
as Jellerson was in the 77th vear of his ai^e — that he don't 
commune with these northern abolitionists, and that they 
only retard the coming of the blessed day, for which they 



52 

al] • sigh. This address was delivered on the floor of con- 
gress in the year 1843. 1 think Mr. Adams says in 
the same address, that wherever he goes, they all flock 
round him, and call him the champion of the right of pe- 
tition. What child don't know that, that knows his Uni- 
ted States, and all his states constitutions, that every man 
woman and child in these United States, has the full right 
to petition if they are agrieved? But what earthly use 
can it be to all of us to have these cart loads of petitions, 
that take up most of the time in congress and our States 
governments, if they only injure us, in the main question, 
and raise all these bad passions into action in all of us, 
and disaftect all our southern brethren and sisters at the 
south, against the north, and so disaftect all our northern 
brethren and sisters against the south, and set the whole 
nation by the ears, like so many cats and dogs, merely to 
please a few men and women's sequels. About the same 
time our Massachusetts Legislature sent to our sister 
State, Virginia, a set of resolutions, drawn up in a very 
artful manner, wishing a separation trom all slavery ; that 
is to say, from all slave holding states; but Virginia saw 
the nub of these resolutions at once, and sent them all 
pack-horse back again to her sister Republic Massachu- 
setts, with a suitable answer of contempt. Wliat is this 
but a separation by force ? The next word must be a 
forcible blow. Gentlemen, you do take their lives, un- 
constitutionally, when you take the means whereby they 
live, and they know it. I fear we at the north ciik'ul;it(' 
too much without our hosts. The south have maiiv 
Iriends at the north that grew out of the American Kr vo- 
lution. The south gave the colonies a Washington, and 



53 



the north gave them a Franklin, with Washington princi- 
ples and acts. 



CHARLESTOWN. 



Now let us say a lew words on the short history of the 
business of ancient Charlcstown, for the past 44 years. — 
To do this I must cite all that are now hving that com- 
menced business then in Charlestown, to confirm what 1 
say. Then about every young man and woman com- 
menced business with fair and equal rights, fair and equal 
justice and laws, with those laws fairly and equally ad- 
ministered ; and with fair and equal facilities. Then there 
was none of this usury on young men and women. If they 
wanted a suitable amount of money to commence life, 
there was always a Franklin at hand to let them have it, 
at six per cent., the lawful interest, with the advice of a 
Frankhn also, gratis. If the small trading part wanted a 
credit for goods, our mother country's merchants, traders 
and artists, were ready to supply them on credit. If they 
wanted only £500 w6rth, fall and spring, they had it on the 
same terms as the American merchant had his £10,000 



54 

worth, and the same accommodation as to an exten- 
sion of credit, if wanted. An Enghsh merchant, trader or 
operative, would despise taking over lawful interest of the 
country ; and would consider it an insult upon his morality. 
I appeal to all young men, then and since, if I am not cor- 
rect in all this business. As it respects English mer- 
chants, traders, artists and operatives, all went on harmo- 
niously in Charlestown then, for there was a good mutual 
feeling running through the whole town. Here let me say, 
that there is a thousand times more high honor in the Eng- 
lish merchants, &c., than there is in the American mer- 
chants, &c. The American prides himself on his Yankee 
shrewdness and trickery ; but there is nothing mean and 
low in the English merchant, &lc. — it is only the English 
nobility tliat are despotic. 

How is it now in Charlestown with this nobility and with 
its masses ? Why, about all of us, young and old and mid- 
dling old, are turned up-side down, and our tails are about 
all where our heads should be. We are mad after all high 
speculations in rail roads and every thing that is vain and 
not for the connnon good of our city and common coun- 
try, and the man or woman that can spend the most money 
loolishly is considered the best fellow in the lot ; our banks 
and usurers, that were and are, being the only exceptions 
to this general rule, will discount to a fair trader 
or operative a small amount to pay his taxes, at the low 
rate of twenty-four percent., if he will })roniise to pay 
his taxes, and can call the devil his uncle, and will give 
them three times the amount as collateral security. 1 am 
hapy to hear by a late New York Express, that they are 
in the same hopeful way with their banks and usurers, as 
misery loves company, when it goes to the tombs of the 



55 

Cipnlets. Here is a pretty coming in of the Jews, if the 
Gentiles are left out. 

Now let us say a few words on tlie uncalled for outlays 
of our infant city, for the benefit only of the few Jasons 
of said city, which accommodates five of every hundred 
to what they may please to ask for. Now, in the first 
place, has not the great outlays been in the extreme parts 
of the city? To advance the property of a few the au- 
thorities have almost abandoned the ancient portion of the 
city, and, by so doing, property has consequently depreci- 
ated, in said portion, at least 25 per cent. This is what 
I call unequal outlays, if I understand the meaning of the 
word unequal. I have no wish to stop or retard enter- 
prise or improvement in any part of the city, God and 
every Charlestown man knows, I only wish to have fair 
play ; the boys used to say when I was a boy, when play- 
ing marbles, that fair play was a Jewell ; and, gentlemen 
and ladies of Charlestown, this is only a game with mar- 
bles that we are now playing, only they are old boys and 
girls engaged in the play. 

We now come to our outlays on schools and schooling. 
When I was a boy of ten years, about fifty-five years ago, 
we had the old Enghsh barracks that were left here at the 
time of the revolution, for a school house on Town Hill ; 
they were' removed from Dexter Row and were about 100 
feet long, and a story and a half high. That was where I 
got my high and low education with the rest of the boys. 
I went to this school, say two years, as it was considered 
great in those days, without the master could see some- 
thing extra in the lad ; for the masters in those days were 
very penetrating, especially with the cowhide, and as the 



56 

master could not see anything extra in me I was put to 
liard work, when twelve years old. There was none of 
the dreadful trouhle about ventilation in those days that 
we hear of now-a-days, in the old school house that I have 
mentioned, for we "enjoyed our own pure mountain bre- 
zes," and made it answer our purpose very well, till the 
year, say 1 800. Mr. Gregory can tell you when that new 
brick school house was built on Town Hill, and it was con- 
sidered a great affair in them days. You all know that 
know any tiling about the affairs of ancient Charlestown, 
what has been done here in the way of building good 
school houses and providing good school masters and mis- 
tresses, and perhaps it would not be too much to say that, 
no town or city in Massachusetts has done more for to 
give all their children a good common education, than 
Charlestown, since said town was burned in 1775, June 
1 7th. The people of this ancient town, felt this fire very 
sensibly, and this we presume, is the reason that that 
people has done so much for to give their children a good 
common education, to fit them all with equal and just ra- 
tional liberty — with equal and just rights — with equal and 
just administration of said laws and rights ; so that they 
all could defend their just and equal rights, and just and 
equal facilities in this, "their ancient town, and throughout 
and against all party tyrants in Charlestown, and 
throughout the world. For as Franklin and Washington 
said, it was a good common education that gave the colo- 
nies their rational liberties, and this American Republic ; 
and that it would be this good common education that 
would preserve and save this American Republic. These 
two mighty men said that this shrewd, sly, cunning, shy, 
high education, would destroy this American Repubhc, 



57 

and produce you nothing but petty tyrants and mean des- 
pots. And do we not all see their prophecy prove true, 
daily, in Charlestown, and in all this American Repul)lic. 
The very first day these lads and lasses enter these hii^h 
schools, you will see a petty tyranny spring up in them 
over their fellow lads and lasses, that will in due time, 
produce despots and Mark Antony politicians. No more 
earning their bread with the sweat of their brows ; it will 
be the sweat of the brows of these ninety-five laborers 
that earn their bread and wine for the five professional 
lads and lasses, men and clergy. 

It does appear to me that these full blown republican 
democrats of Charlestown run before their horses to mar- 
market, in being so zealous for these high schools and 
high education. I cannot see for the life of me where 
they can count their gains, for to say that all the poor chil- 
dren in Charlestown can get this high education, as well 
as the rich, appears to me to be mere fancy. I fear 
they will make for themselves and the public, in their old 
age, a vast many King Lears, and poor Toms, that will 
be cold ! "O Scotland ! Scotland ! !" says Rosse. 

Now was not this a waste of all future generations 
of children's property of a good common education in 
Charlestown, of the city authorities first outlays on that 
training field, so called ? Was there ever a more suita- 
ble place than this training-field for all this, and all future 
generations of children to receive this good common edu- 
cation ? It seems that the God of the universe had fixed 
this spot and place for all the poor and rich children of 
Charlestown, to receive a good common education unto 
the end of earthly time ; and what waste of property in 

all the other school houses, &;c. in this infant citv ! 1 un- 
8 



58 

ilerstand by Mr. Hunt, that he was told by a person, that 
there cannot be any more children accommodated now, 
than there were before this waste of property and princi- 
ple. 

Now gentlemen and ladies of ancient Charlestown, 
how can we expect to escape, if we neglect so great a 
salvation for all our children's good common education 
in this, and all future generations? Shall we not all of us 
be punished lor our sins and transgressions in this shame- 
ful business, as the children of Israel were, with some evil 
king Saul, to tease and torment them and us to death ? 
Must all these millions of poor children that are to be pro- 
duced, be shoved aside from this heavenly hght of a good 
common education, to make room for the few royal fami- 
lies in Charlestown? Shame on us, gentlemen and la- 
dies of Charlestown ! Never let it be said any more, that 
we are citizens of Bunker Hill town, the spot where the 
first blood was shed for the rational liberties of a world. 
There were some skirmishes and blood spilt in Boston, 
Lexington and Concord ; but the main stand was made 
at Bunker Hill. The Americans then told the Enghsh 
forces at Boston, that they were ready for the contest of 
a world's rational liberty. We all of us in Charlestown, 
have good common education enough to know the com- 
mands and wishes of the God of the universe ; that it is 
to assist every child of his to a good common education. 
For if all children can have this, it will fortify them by the 
grace of God, against all petty tyrants, with high edu- 
cation. There is not a man or woman in Charlestown 
but what seems to be willing to give the last dollar to as- 
sist all children to this good common education. But 
what can we do as a body or soul, if our property is fal- 



59 

len by this bad management, and there are a goodly num- 
ber of us bankrupts ? Have not your children had better 
houses and better masters than most of you slaves in 
Cliarlestown ? Have not most of you been slaves to your 
children and your masters? What makes a slave ? Why, 
because he has a master. We could cite thousands of 
cases in the Scriptures, besides the passage that our 
learned and worthy fellow citizen, Mr. Belfour has cited 
for us, that a slave and a servant in God's Bible, is synony- 
mous, that they mean one and the same thing. If we 
had time and space, we would say more on tliis subject. 
All this noise and outcry at the north about southern 
slavery is settled in one word, humanity. Has not the 
south as much humanity for their servants or slaves, as the 
north has for theirs ? That is the question. Good God ? 
be pleased to answer this question for us all, as a nation, 
before we fall into this fire of civil war. 

1 know it will be said of me that I want to set the poor 
against the rich ; that 1 want to oppose the laws and reli- 
gion of my country, and take the property from the rich 
and give it to the poor in an improper manner ; but I don't 
want to do any of these things, I want to do what I can to 
confirm all good laws and pure Christianity ; I want to have 
the rich and poor to have the best of feelings, the one to 
the other, and I want to prevent confusion and faction. — 
An American citizen is only a steward for his fellow men 
and women, and as well might we bar down the reservoirs 
when our towns and cities were on fire, and say the wa- 
ter should not be used only on such and such buildings ; as 
well might you say our savings banks shall be locked from 
the depositors, as to say that the means shall be held back 
in the stewards hands, to a reasonable aiuouut, from their 



60 

fellow men, women and children, of all colors and bloody 
in want. This m'tjat mass of men women and children 
have made this money and property with their own hands, 
and with their own labor. Let me ask the American rich 
man with his millions, what good it will do him, if the day 
should ever come in America, as it has in Rome or France. 
Rome, republican Rome and France ; what are they now ? 
Are not we the last experiment of self government of the 
people alone ? Are there no omens in America ? Read 
this, mighty Csesar. Of what avail will your millions be 
to you then, if our government and all go down, as Rome 
or France have ? — will it be any comfort or consolation to 
you to say you have your money in government, bank or 
railroad stock ? They will then all go to Mr. Job's satan 
at once. Is there no resemblance between America and 
Rome and France ? — is there not a remarkable resem- 
blance ? — is there no Amen, to hear the report of these 
five smiling Jasons, usurers, councellors and priests, that 
have won the fleeces of 95 out of every 100 of their fel- 
low men ? Them 93 of the 100 are no John Falstafi' ar- 
my ; they have drank deep of the cup of American liberty 
that has been delt out to them by you, five Jasons ! The 
fire and spirit of their fathers rise in them hourly ; these 
are the materials that brou";ht about the revolution in 
Rome and France, and will be the materials that will 
bring about a similar revolution in America, if we do not 
all return back to them mighty principles and acts of them 
mighty men : Franklin, Washington and all their associ- 
ates. It is not sufiicient for the slave or servant to be 
equal with his master ; is he not more than e(|ual with his 
master, if that master be kind and humane? 

And now let us all in Charlestown repent at Job did, 



61 

when the Lord God spoke to him out of the wliirlvvind, in 
dust and ashes, and return to our duties as fellow citizens 
of Charlestown, for our great trouble has been that our 
goodly ruddy young men and women have been hanker- 
ing after the vanities of Boston and have neglected the 
true interests of Charlestown ; and now if we will all re- 
turn to our duties, Charlestown will blossom again like the 
rose, and it will yet become again a place of immense 
business in the staples of life ; and that is all we want if 
we did but know it. Let all those branch railroads for 
a hundred miles about us be broken up, and let all them 
good people for a hundred miles about us come and trade 
iairly with us, as tliey were wont to do formerly, and it 
would be better for them and us ; so they, and we all say. 
Then we shall not have to go to the Boston or Charles- 
town usurers and pay them 108 per cent, usury, and be 
nmch more slaves than our southern brethren negroes are. 



^^<£ 



<^^02^^<^ 



RAIL ROADS. 



As to tliese Branch Railroads, &:c., in Charlestown and 
its vicinity : — I, in the year 1834, was requested by some 
of the nobles of Charlestown to call and see the Hon. P. 
T. Jackson on this subject, to get his assistance and views, 
and he told me that I might report to the Charlestown 
people that they had his best wishes on the subject ; and 
that the Lowell railroad should, by right, have gone to 
Charlestown, and also, that it was the best place for their 
great dopot ; that it would have saved their company two 
hundred thousand dollars, given them a far better depot than 
they now have, and that he tryed all in his power to get said 
railroad to go to Charlestown then, as he said the waters, 
the lands, and every thing was there to accommodate the 
vast back country with all their heavy freight of the sta- 
ples of hfe. And 1 believe he did try all in his power to 
get it to Charlestown, but some of the nobles in Charles- 
town were mulish about it then, as they are now, about 
everything that is for the true interest of this ancient town; 
they seem to want every thing for their own self interest, 
and then cry out against Charlestown, and say it is no 



63 

place for business, and that it will only do for noblemen 
and women to sleep in; but the real fact is, there is not a 
town in these vast United States so well located for lair 
and honorable business, as Charlestown. But these no- 
blemen and women are sold, soul and body, to the noble- 
men and women of Boston ; they are more slaves to the 
Boston people and their fashions and vanities, than the 
southern slaves are to their masters. 

In this year 1 83 i, the Hon. P. T. Jackson gave me his 
views on railroads, &c.; he said while the commerce of our 
country would support all in the country to a healthy liv- 
ing he did what he could in commerce, but when he saw 
the great increase of population, then he went into manu- 
fficturing for the good of all his countrymen and women, 
and then when he saw that there was a railroad wanted to 
Lowell he was the principal man that did it ; this was for 
the good of the public, and not for their evil. The Hon. 
P. T Jackson's whole life was spent for the good of the 
public. 

Here let me say a few words about the late Hon. Wm. 
Gray. There is not a man or woman in Charlestown or 
Massachusetts, that can look back 44 years, more or 
less, but will recollect with pleasure what favors Mr. Gray 
did for them. Mr. Gray also, was a man that lived for 
the public good. These men were no usurers, to eat up, 
soul and body, the great mass of the people with usury. — 
In this year 1834, I, with the late Messrs Goodrich and 
Sweet, got the Charlestown Branch Railroad Act. We 
three did this, and then gave all into these noblemen's 
hands. And what have they done ? Why, they have 
bought up all the rights at their own prices, and made this 
Fitchburg Railroad, Sic. ; and now, w^ith the friendly as- 



64 

sistance of tlie Legislature, have taken away from 
eighteen milUons of people, all fair and just rights of safe 
travel, and given it to one million of shavers, in crossing 
this Warren Bridge, to take all the travelers they can from 
Charlestown to Boston. This is what I call exclusive 
rights, if I know the meaning of the word. All I got from 
these noblemen for my trouble, was for them to lesson all 
my property in their wake from that day to this. 

Mr. Jackson, in 1834, was of the opinion that Railroads 
were useful to the public, to a certain extent ; but he ex- 
pected the American people would get Railroad mad 
in this speculation and peculation, as they had in every 
other mad speculation ; and in the end be the ruin of the 
country ; and we find the best statesmen in England, &c., 
concur in Mr. Jackson's opinion. We find all the towns 
and stockholders of these petty branch Railroads are get- 
ting heart sick of them ; that they have been lured into 
them by sharpers, and in the end no one will make any 
thing out of them but the sharpers and brokers, without 
it is the thanks of P. P. I. Z. Degrand, &c., saying gen- 
tlemen, I thank you for attending my auctions. 



— =-^^^?t^£©^^^^a==— 



65 

Now let us close this short history with a few words of 
advice to our goodly young men and women of Charles- 
town and its vicinity. Let them all learn wisdom by my 
life of folhes in all the excitements of our days of foolish, 
wild speculations. Fall on the principles and acts of 
Franklin and Washington. Let these men be your 
guides. 



TO THE YOUNG MEN. 



Young men of America, that labor with your hands for 
a living, are you ready to sell your rational liberty and 
just rights, as the Roman citizens did, for seventy-five 
drachmas, and liberty to walk in Caesar's orchards and 
pleasure grounds ? Americans, are you ready to sell your 
rational liberty and just rights, for seventy-five drachmes, 
about ;^2,25 our money, and a walk by the white house ? 
Gentlemen, it will be a black house then. Then farewell 
all republican self government of the people alone ; then 
farewell forever all fair hum of the fair business of the 
axe and hammer — the plough and furrow. Farewell for- 
ever, the hollow sounding drum, and the ear piercing fife, 
to lead you on to battle for a world's just rights. Your 

occupations will be forever gone then. We are the last re- 
9 



66 



public, if we can call ourselves a republic. It is for vow 
to say if it shall be so ; you are this self government of 
the people alone — you are the great machine — you, the 
working men, are the pieces of the workmanship — it is to 
you we give the last look. Millions of children are now 
gazing on you with all their eageniess, as the only hope 
of their future rational Uberty and just rights, and for their 
good common education to defend said rights. Not only 
this generation, but all future generations look to you. 
Gentlemen, calmly reflect on the high ground you stand 
on. There is not a man amongst the whole of you, that 
is not of as much importance to our self government as 
the president of said self government. We are all in one 
concern — all sink or swim together. Remember it 
was not Brutus and Antony that could mow down the 
Romans with their own hands ; they were only the mov- 
ers of the setters on. It was Romans mowing down Ro- 
mans, as you see now. Frenchmen mowing down French- 
men. Rome and France fell by their own hands and by 
their own faction. Remember if this mighty American 
self Republican Government of the people alone falls, she 
will fall by her own hands. All the powers on this earth 
can never do it. Remember if this self government falls^ 
your hands hke Sampson's wiU be on its pillars — it will be 
in vain then, to go round and say, it was this ruler or that — 
this officer or that — this man or that. If that day should 
ever arrive, all of us that may be alive, will have a hand 
in it. We cannot get off then as we do now, by putting 
our own faults on others. Let me say to all young men, 
have a mind of your own, when you start in life. Yoh 
have guides before you ; Franklin, Washington and all 
such men. They have gone through life well — they have 



67 

weathered tlie cape. You will go through life well if you 
follow them. Let father, mother, and all the Mark Anto- 
ny politicians and Churlish priests of the day be seconda- 
ry, not primary. 



AN APOLOGY. 



Now let me make a suitable apology to all the gentle- 
men of high or low standing, that I have named in this 
short history of Charlestown, &c. My only object was to 
give my fellow citizens of Charlestown and the public, a 
simple history of facts, as they came to me for the past 44 
years, hoping and praying that if 1 have said any thing 
amiss, they will all fully excuse me, as we are all com- 
manded by the Bible to speak our minds very freely, and 
now, as we have spoken very freely of the Boston bravely 
good men and bravely rich men, and bravely Tyrus God's, 
that say they set in the seat of God. 

Lions and horses. Let us say a few words on their 
bravely good asses; for I expect Mr. Parker's Boston 
bravely good man was not much better than the bravely 
good Mr. Job, that when the Lord God spoke to Job out 
of the whirlwind and said, " who is tins', that darkeneth 



68 

councel by words without knowledge ?" This Mr. Job 
was said to be a perfect and an upright man, &c. Now 
f expect Mr. Job was a real Christian, or as near as we 
can get one in our days, in Boston, Charlestown, or 
Maiden. He was certainly a brave statesman and politi- 
cian. Let us do as he did, viz : abhor ourselves and re- 
pent in dust and ashes. If we cannot find any in Boston 
Charlestown, or Maiden, let us all go to Tewksbury. We 
shall find enough dust and chaff there to cover all of us, 
and then who can tell if we bravely good men in Boston, 
Charlestown and Maiden, will not have twice as much as 
we had before in pieces of money and earrings of gold, and 
a thousand she asses. Mr. Job's troop of a thousand she 
asses brought up the rear rank of his twice as much as he 
had before, and this makes the old saying good that, "wine 
and women rule the world." 

Now Mr. Parker, let you and your bravely good men 
an<l women in Boston, &c., and we in Charlestown, Mai- 
den, &:c., bring all our bravely good men and women to- 
gether, and gird up all our loins like men and women and 
answer the God of the universe out of his whirlwind, as 
Job did, and abhor ourselves and repent in dust and ashes, 
for we have all got to do this, bravely good and bravely 
had ; and then we all can say with a bravely good relish — 
when the morning stars sung together, and all the sons 
and daughters of God shouted for joy. Now let us all close 
this part of our subject with a song : 

When llif! hollow drummer boats to bed, 
And the little (ifcr iianirs his wearied head : 

Then shall we all march out of this our eartly prison 
state into our heavenly state of perfect rest and endless h;ip- 
pincss, by tins heavenly moonlight checrly. 



69 

Now gentlemen of Charlestown and vicinity I wish to 
prove to you all that have arrived to the common age of 
man, that I am correct in my statements on high educa- 
tion and good common education, for the benefit of the 
great mass of the people in this nation. Also, if the fair 
and equal business has not proved far better than the un- 
fair and unequal business, since the American revolution, 
I put the question to each of you that commenced a busi- 
ness life, say 60 years ago, and by your industry accumu- 
lated enough property for your own and your large familie's 
comfort and. happiness, so that you and they could all go 
down to your graves like shooks of corn, fully ripe for the 
harvest, if you had kept to this fair and honorable business; 
but when you and your children turned aside like the 
Prophet Samuel's two sons, after lucre, and took bribes 
and perverted judgment, and turned aside after all these 
wild, mad speculations and vanities of these days, that has 
made yourselves and your sons and daughters bankrupts 
and beggars. It is this high education that has done all 
this, for it produces in you all these gambling feelings in 
the human breast, and all these lago jealousies, for when a 
company of daring men get together to cheat the great 
mass, there is at least all that lago jealousy that existed be- 
tween Othello and lago. The great hobby of an Ameri- 
can is, to be the richest man, and then he will be the most 
powerful. We see it was always so till Jesus of Nazareth 
was sent by the God of the universe, to proclaim to the 
world a new doctrine of peace and good will unto all men. 
What envy and jealousy there was between king Saul 
and David when the Israclitish women came out into tlie 
streets, saying, " Saul has slain his thousands, and 
David his tens of thousands.'' This envy and jealousy 



70 

lasted till the complete ^^wnfall of king Saul. King Saul 
was what we should call in our days, a very great knave; 
but our kings and noblemen are more pohshed knaves ; 
they have this smooth high education, they can worm 
themselves into all the offices of honor and profit. We 
Bee our learned and high educated Bancroft, by his smooth, 
high education, could worm himself into the good graces 
of our government, and get the office of Secretary of the 
Navy, when he did not know a hand spike from a marlin 
spike in the Navy; or a commodore's broad pendant, 
from his own broad ruffles. He could write a flighty his- 
tory of this country, just calculated to suit a Roman sick 
girl. He could tell you all, what Franklin, Washington 
and all such men did in their days. 

Now see him as our American minister in our mother 
country, England, flattering and fawning like a spaniel 
dog, all the noblemen and women in England. Did his 
lather Franklin set him this example ? No, when Frank- 
lin was there as agent and minister for the colonies, and 
any news arrived in London, of England's oppression to 
any nation or any of her subjects, Franklin was on hand 
to reprimand and reprove the whole race of the English 
noblemen, king and all. Dr. Franklin was a man for a 
world's rational hberty and just rights. I would not wish 
to see our minister or any of our rulers, or officers, lose 
their dignity or politeness to any nation ; but 1 would 
have them all stand firm on their own ground, as Ameri- 
cans, and defend the true American principles and acts, 
before a world of nobles. 

The reason 1 wish Mr. Webster to be the president of 
this vast nation is, because ever since he came into 
pubhc life, in 1812, he has taken a broad view of this 



71 

vast nation's equal and just rights, and a true, just and 
equal interest in every sectional part. His broad aim and 
talents has been to protect the commerce, fisheries, agri- 
culture, manufactures, and all the business of this vast na- 
tion, as equally and fairly as possible. But what avail is 
it for the great mass of whigs in Massachusetts to exert 
themselves to do right and equal with all the world, if they 
must be cloged with a few high educated whig despots, 
that want all the power and wealth of Ma^^sachusetts. 
This is tlie reason I want a separation peaceably, now at 
once ; for we as a nation never shall see any better times 
till we do separate. This treatise of mine, to fully under- 
stand it, you must, Americans, read your Bible from one 
end to the other, and also, you must read Shakspeare 
from one end to the other. 

My friends tell me that I w^ite too sprawlingly and not 
elegant enough for the times ; too old fashion, and that 
I borrow too much from the Bible and Shakspear ; two 
good books given to borrow or lend from. Well, I am an 
old man, I find, and I am aware of this. For to get an 
office of honor or profit in this nation or state, you must 
be a Mark Antony politician to call the mass your sweet 
masters, for the sake of their sweet voices. Also, you will 
find a number of repetitions, as I can say as Lancelot Gob- 
bo said about his old father, that his father was a very old 
man ; yet he could say that he was a very poor man. 
Now gentlemen, all of you will have the heavenly bravely 
goodness to excuse all my errors and defects as it is a 
very great consolation to us all, that we shall all get to 
this heaven at last. And I shall remain, while I have life, 
Yours very respectfully, 

JOSEPH THOMPSON. 



il 



> 



